Giving Thanks Around the World: A Celebration of Global Gratitude

Exploring global gratitude helps us honor diversity, deepen understanding, and build connection.

TL;DR – Gratitude Around the Globe

▍ U.S. Thanksgiving is just one of many cultural expressions of gratitude worldwide.

▍ From moon-viewing festivals in Asia to ancestral rituals in Africa, gratitude takes many forms.

▍ Exploring global traditions deepens our appreciation for cultural diversity and shared values.

▍ At its heart, giving thanks is a global language of connection, reflection, and community.

As the leaves change and homes light up with harvest decorations, many in the U.S. turn inward to reflect, reconnect, and give thanks. While American Thanksgiving may feel familiar, it’s just one of many global traditions that celebrate gratitude, whether for harvests, resilience, faith, or family.

Thanksgiving in the U.S.: A Familiar Tradition

In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, and lots of food. The traditional American version of this holiday is a time to slow down, give thanks for blessings, reflect on our nation’s history, and reconnect over shared meals. Whether it’s a turkey on the table or football on the screen, the day invites us to pause and appreciate the people and moments that matter most.

Gratitude Across Cultures

But Thanksgiving isn’t the only way people give thanks. Around the world, gratitude is expressed through seasonal or spiritual traditions that span centuries. Some are tied to harvest and agriculture, while others are rooted in ancestry, religion, or the rhythms of community life. While the symbols may differ, the sentiment is often the same: to pause, reflect, and give thanks for what we’ve been given.

Gratitude Around the World: Harvests, Holidays, and Shared Traditions

For many cultures, the harvest season has long marked a time of gratitude and celebration. These moments often coincide with the gathering of crops, the end of agricultural cycles, and the beginning of reflection. Traditions may include special foods, offerings to nature, or festivals that bring communities together in appreciation of the earth’s abundance.

Other expressions of gratitude center around spiritual renewal or honoring those who came before us. These observances may be rooted in faith, remembrance, or acts of generosity. Inviting people to gather, give, and reconnect with something deeper. Whether through prayer, ritual, or reflection, these celebrations create space to express thanks for resilience, guidance, and connection across generations.

Let's explore many of these celebrations:

In Turkey (the country, of course), Şeker Bayramı (known formally as Ramazan Bayramı and globally as Eid al-Fitr) marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. While not a harvest festival, it is deeply rooted in gratitude, charity, and family. Turkish families come together to celebrate the strength shown during a month of fasting. Sweets and Turkish delight are shared with neighbors and visitors, and children receive gifts or money from elders. The tradition highlights the joy of giving, the value of togetherness, and the importance of showing thanks for life’s blessings.

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October, several weeks earlier than the U.S. The date is different, but the spirit is similar. Canadians gather with loved ones to express gratitude and enjoy a harvest meal. Traditional Canadian Thanksgiving foods include roasted meats, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, and other seasonal vegetables. Interestingly, some historians suggest that Canada’s first Thanksgiving celebration predates the American version, tracing back to early European explorers giving thanks for safe passage and abundant harvests.

In Thailand, Loi Krathong is celebrated on the 12th full moon of the Thai lunar calendar, typically in November. This beautiful festival blends Buddhist and animist traditions, centered around gratitude, renewal, and letting go. Participants craft small floating baskets and release them into rivers or lakes. These baskets, called krathongs, are made traditionally of banana leaves and decorated with flowers, candles, and incense. This symbolic gesture expresses thanks to the water goddess and a desire to release past negativity. The evening is often romantic, with couples floating krathongs together to represent lasting love. The celebration also includes vibrant street food, music, and lanterns that light up the night sky, making it one of Thailand’s most cherished cultural events.

In India, Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most widely celebrated holidays. Rooted in Hindu tradition, Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. While not primarily a harvest festival, it often aligns with the end of the agricultural season in some regions and marks a time of renewal, prosperity, and gratitude. Families exchange gifts, visit loved ones, and illuminate their homes with diyas (oil lamps) and colorful decorations. The celebration is both spiritual and social, bringing people together to reflect, rejoice, and give thanks for abundance and new beginnings.

Japan: Tsukimi, or Otsukimi, meaning “moon-viewing,” is a Japanese festival that takes place in September or October, during the harvest moon of the lunar calendar. The celebration honors the autumn full moon and expresses gratitude for the season’s abundance. Families gather to admire the moon, enjoy seasonal dishes, and offer tsukimi dango, small round rice dumplings resembling the full moon. These dango are typically stacked in a pyramid on a wooden stand and placed where the moon is visible. The offerings, which may also include chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and beans, symbolize appreciation for the autumn harvest, especially rice, a staple of the Japanese diet. Tsukimi is deeply rooted in cultural tradition, blending nature, food, and reflection, and is believed to bring health and happiness in the coming year.

China: The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in September or early October, is one of China’s most important traditional holidays. Rooted in the Tang dynasty, this festival honors the harvest moon and expresses gratitude for abundance and family unity. People gather with loved ones to admire the full moon and enjoy mooncakes, which are round pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings that symbolize reunion and completeness. It’s also a time for offering thanks to ancestors and deities, lighting lanterns, and celebrating the changing seasons. The Mid-Autumn Festival blends mythology, seasonal rhythms, and family tradition into one luminous evening of reflection and connection.

South Korea: In South Korea, Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, is a major three-day harvest festival celebrated in late September or early October, depending on the lunar calendar. Often compared to Thanksgiving, Chuseok centers on family reunions, sharing traditional foods, and paying respects to ancestors through rituals called charye. Families prepare and enjoy dishes like songpyeon (rice cakes) and other seasonal fare while visiting ancestral hometowns and tending to family graves. Rooted in gratitude for a successful harvest, Chuseok blends reflection, tradition, and connection across generations.

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: In parts of Central Europe, especially Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, people celebrate Erntedankfest, which translates to “Harvest Thanksgiving Festival.” Observed in late September or early October, this tradition blends religious and agricultural roots, giving thanks for a successful harvest. Celebrations often include church services, parades, folk music, and the decoration of homes and churches with autumn crops like pumpkins, grains, and flowers. While not as commercial or widely celebrated as American Thanksgiving, Erntedankfest remains a meaningful cultural event that emphasizes gratitude, community, and the rhythms of rural life.

Ghana: In Ghana, the Ga people celebrate Homowo, a vibrant harvest festival that expresses gratitude for abundance and honors the memory of ancestors who endured famine. The name “Homowo” means “to hoot at hunger,” reflecting both the historical resilience of the Ga people and their joy in overcoming hardship. The festival, which takes place in August or September, features traditional drumming, dancing, and sharing a special maize-based dish called kpokpoi. Homowo is both a cultural celebration and a spiritual act of giving thanks, centered on family, community, and remembrance.

Modern Thanksgiving Traditions Around the World

Thanksgiving has been adapted and reimagined through historical ties or international influence in some parts of the world. While these observances may draw inspiration from American traditions, they often reflect local values, customs, and ways of giving thanks. From quiet moments of reflection to community-wide gatherings, these newer expressions of gratitude continue to evolve while honoring the heart of the tradition.

Here are a few modern interpretations of Thanksgiving from around the globe:

Liberia: In Liberia, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November and has roots in the country’s founding by freed American slaves. The holiday blends Christian worship with local Liberian traditions, including music, food, and community gatherings. It’s a time to express gratitude, reflect on national history, and celebrate cultural identity.

Saint Lucia: In Saint Lucia, Thanksgiving is observed in October as a public holiday focused on giving thanks for blessings and abundance. While the celebration is quieter and less centered on large meals than in the U.S., it remains a meaningful day of spiritual reflection and gratitude for many in the community.

Brazil: Inspired by American traditions, Brazil observes Dia de Ação de Graças, or Thanksgiving Day, on the fourth Thursday of November. Though not a national holiday, it is recognized by some communities, particularly in schools, churches, and among families with cultural or religious ties to the U.S. The day is marked by prayer, gratitude, and charitable acts, often centered around church services or gatherings focused on giving thanks. While it doesn’t involve the widespread feasting seen in American Thanksgiving, Dia de Ação de Graças reflects similar values of reflection, gratitude, and community.

Norfolk Island: Though part of Australia, Norfolk Island celebrates Thanksgiving on the last Wednesday of November, a tradition introduced by American whalers in the 1800s. While not widely observed across mainland Australia, Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island remains a local custom with church services, decorations of fresh produce, and community gatherings. The celebration reflects a blend of American influence and island culture, offering a unique expression of gratitude rooted in both history and harvest.

Gratitude in Global Rituals

Beyond the widely known holidays, many communities have their own rituals of thanks. These celebrations blend nature, spirituality, and togetherness. These moments may be marked by music, food, offerings, or symbolic acts that connect people to the land, to one another, and to the deeper meaning of gratitude. Whether practiced on a small scale or embraced by entire regions, they remind us that thankfulness is a living, breathing part of cultural life.

Here are just a few examples of how gratitude is woven into community rituals and seasonal observances around the world:

In Israel and Jewish communities worldwide, Sukkot is a week-long festival held in autumn to give thanks for the harvest and commemorate resilience. Families build temporary outdoor shelters called sukkahs, where meals are shared under the open sky.

In Vietnam, Tết Trung Thu, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrates the harvest moon with colorful lanterns, mooncakes, and joyful gatherings. The festival is especially focused on children and family unity.

Nigeria’s Igbo communities mark the New Yam Festival in August or September with dancing, music, and symbolic first bites of the year’s harvest, a gesture of gratitude and renewal.

In Indonesia, the Sundanese people celebrate Seren Taun, a thanksgiving for the rice harvest that blends spirituality, tradition, and communal feasting.

In the United Kingdom, Harvest Festival services in churches and schools reflect agricultural gratitude, with food donations and songs honoring the season’s bounty.

These traditions may differ in practice, from ancient rituals to modern observances, but they all carry the same core message: gratitude for what the earth provides and the people who make life meaningful.

Shared Values: Food, Family, and Thankfulness

Across all these traditions, some themes remain beautifully consistent. Food is often at the center, nourishing our bodies and our sense of connection. Families and communities gather, stories are shared, and people give thanks for material abundance and the bonds that sustain them. These shared values reveal how gratitude lives at the intersection of culture, tradition, and human connection.

What These Global Traditions Can Teach Us About Gratitude

No matter where or how we give thanks, these global traditions remind us of a simple truth: gratitude transcends borders. It reflects what unites us through food, family, and the values that help us flourish together. Learning about how others give thanks not only broadens our perspective but also deepens our appreciation for the traditions we hold dear.

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At TLR Search, we’re energy and chemical recruiters who believe that great hiring starts with understanding people: their values, backgrounds, and motivations. These global traditions of giving thanks remind us that the strongest connections are rooted in purpose, whether you’re building a team or honoring a harvest.

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